Refrigerator.



J'. F. WEBB.

RBPMGERATOR.' APPLICATION FILED DEO. 18, 1909.

Patented July 18, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

wwf/WUR l Jean/ Webb J. E. WEBB.

REFRIGERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED DB0. 1a, 1909.

Patented July 18, 1911.

e Il WIT/VESSES:

J. P. WEBB. REFRIGERATOR.

. APPLICATION FILED DBG.1B,19U9. 9989484, Patented July 18,1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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J. P. WEBB.

REPRIGERATO-R.

APPLICATION FILED 13,130.18, 1909.

998,434, Patented July 18,1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

' ings,

PATENT OFFICE.

JEAN FRANCIS WEBB, or NEW vom; N. Y.

REFBIGERATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 1 8, 19141.`

Application led December 18, 1909. Serial No. 533,800.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I`,"JEAN F. WEBB, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain -new and useful Improvements in Refrigerators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is an improved refrigerator wherein is provided an inner shell inclosing the food and ice chambers, which shell is surrounded by a plurality of other shells, the spaces between alternate ones of which are evacuated, while the other spaces are filled with a circulating fluid, such as Water, brine, alcohol and water, or other suitable {iuid having a low freezing point.

The several shells of the refrigerator are preferably formed of pressed steel and welded together at their joints. Doors are also vprovided having alternate fluid and vacuum chambers, and means are provided whereby the vacuum chambers may be evacuated and sealed up, and means are also provided whereby the fluid chambers may be filled and drained, as desired.

The invention also resides in providing a frame having shelves to receive the food stuff and ice, which frame may be bodily removed from the refrigerator and which Supports the ice in a position'such that it is held close to one'side of the refrigerator so that the fluid Within the fluid jacket lor chamber may be cooled in such manner that effective circulation thereof will be estab- Those novel details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter described and specifically pointed out in the appended claims, also form a part of my invention. i Referring now to the drawings,-Figure 1, 1s a perspective view of my invention. Fig. 2, is a central, vertical, longitudinal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3, is a horizontal section onthe line 3 -3\of Fig. 2. Fig. 4, is a perspective view of apart of the innerframe that supports the shelving. Fig. 5, is an enlarged detail section View of the air valve and seal. Fig. 6, is an enlarged detail sectional view of the drain and trap. Fig. 7, is a view similar to Fig. 2 of a modification of the invention. Y

Referring now to the accompanying drawin which like numerals and letters of reference indicate like parts in al1 of the figures, 1 designates the outerA s hell, which jacket in the preferred form of the invention is of rectangular form, the shell forming in cross section three sides of a rectangle. the shell 1 is an inner shell 3 and an intermediate shell 2 of like form to the shell 1, except that the shells 2 and 3 have continuous flanges 2*-3 respectively that project toward the outer shell 1 around the mouth of the shells-2 and 3. v Y

The flange 3a is welded, or otherwise made secure at 3h to the shell 1 at its mouth, while the flange 2a is welded, or otherwise secured to the flange 3', thus making air and fluidtight chambers W and V. The chamber W adjacent to the inner shell 3 forms the duid jacket chamber while that of V forms the vacuum chamber and surrounds the chamber W.

By constructing the s hells 1, l2 and 3 as described it will be observed they form a nest of shells, as it were, the inner shell 3 inclosing the food and ice chamber, which sides, top and bottom, with rst a fluid and then a vacuum chamber.

In the bottom of the refrigerator the shells 2 and 3 are cupped at 2-3 to form a catch-basin, or drain, for the water from the melted ice. A drain trap 4 is provided to permit the outflow of the drainage water.

The cup portions 3 and 2 are secured together at 2, welded or otherwise fastened 1f desired, and the bottom of the cup 3 1s secured at 3@ to the shell 1 in any approved manner. This not only forms a catch basin but acts asa support for the bottom of the thus becomes completely surrounded on three Within j I shells 2 and 3 beneath the place of greatest strains, namely, the ice chamber portion.

The shell 1 has a depression 1 which the exhausting and sealing valve 7 1s held,

the depression protecting the valve from m- ]uly.

Water, -br1ne, alcohol and water, or other refrigerat' fluid, is admitted into the chamber valve 8*, from any convenlent source. The chamber Wl may be drained through a valved outlet 9 at the bottom.

Legs 5 are provided-to support the erator and casters 6 may be carried by le fr1gerator readil movable.

' The food an .ice chamber within the shell 3 is closed by doors, each being formed of the outer wall 10.-11, and intermerefrigthe through a, pipe 8, having a 5 vwhen desired so as to make the rerespectively, to form iuid and vacuum chambers W and V, respectively. The doors form the front wall of the refrigerator.

Depressions c-11"' are provided in the respective doors to receive the evacuating and sealing valves 7 for the respective vacuum chambers V. Inlet cocks 14 and drain cocks 15 are also Yprovided for each door through which fluid may be admitted to and withdrawn from the fluid chamber W of the respective doors.

15typ eral intermediate shells 2xthe outer shell 1 and the inner shell 3 to' The doors are hinged at 12 to the refrigerator box and they may be secured by suitable catches 13 -13-'13b of any approved Instead of .providing only a single iluid and vacuum chamber I may interpose sev- Y- z between form alternately disposed fluid and vacuum chambers W and V respectively, care being taken to have preferably an even number of each so that a fluid chamber may be adjacent to the inner shell 3 and a vacuum chamber next to the outer shell 1, as indicated in the modified' form shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings. Y

In the form shown in Fig. 7, a valve 7 7a is provided for each vacuum chamber V and all of such valves may terminate Vin the single depression 1 in the shell instead so that the inside thereof may be easily and vide of roviding se arate or individual de ressioris for each olf the valves 7 Similaily a single inlet pipe 8x having ports Sy may be used for all of the fluid chambers W and a single outlet pipe 9x having ports 95' may be used for all of the fluid chambers W, care being taken to eiectively seal the places where such pipes pass through the shell.

For sanitary reasons I make the inner shell, of a single piece with rounded corners,

effectively washed and cleaned, and I proa frame 16 to support the ice and food stuffs, which frame -16 is bodily removable with its contents rom'the refrigerator.

. The frame 16 is composed of a set of vervOne or more sets of tical angle irons 16'* joined by rectangular frames 16" at the top and bottom,-and by a metallic partition 161 that extends transversely the full height of the frame to separate the food and ice compartments.

The angle irons 16a are further braced and joined by horizontal angle irons 16 -16 that form shelf supports. The angle irons 16" carry removable shelves 16 for the food stuff which shelves are preferably formed of heavy woven wire to permit circulation of the air through the same. angle irons 16e may be provided to receive shelves 16t for the ice.

The partition-16l has openings 16g-16h for the air to passin circulating.

By providing the ice chamber at one side the refrigerator so that the icewill'be diation.

-and ice chamber andhaving a inclosing said passageway, said close to the wall 3, the fluid within the chamber W will be cooled at that place thus setting up an effective circulation to bring all parts of 'such fluid in the chamber W adjacent to the ice, whereby such fluid is effectively cooled to the lowest practicable degree.

The shelves 16m-16t being removable, they may readily b e washed, and the frame 16 being itself removable from the refrigerator, may be taken out and cleaned with ease.

it may dicated. A

In practice the refrigerator is preferably made of pressed steel, galvanized, coppered or enameled, vas may be found desirable.

By providing the outer chamber always as a vacuum chamber the external heatwill be provided with casters 16, as innot penetrate into .the refrigerator to `any great degree, any heat passing the vacuum chamber will lbe absorbed by the Huid in the fiuid chamber. The fluid in such chamber being kept cool by the ice Within the ice compartment, such heat will be absorbed before it lcan arrive at the inner chamber of the refrigerator.

.The water within the water chamber'of the door 11 will be cooled by the ice in the ice compartment and that within the Water Yspecific construction of shelf supporting frame, per se, disclosed in Fig. 4 of the awings, as the subject-matter thereof forms the subject-matter of a divisional application.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it is thought the complete construction, operation vention will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the inventionl ap ertains.

at I claim is:

1. A refrigerator comprisin a plurality' of concentric metallic shells in osmg a food passageway Into said-food and ice chamber, a door for lng a cupped portion and a drain pipe and trap held insaid cupped portion.

' 2. A refrigerator comprising, a plurality of concentric metallic-'shells inclosng a food and advantages of my in` shells halv-A To facilitate the removal of the frame 16 I opening and ice chamber and having a passageway into said food and ice chamber, a door for inclosing said passageway, said shells having a cupped portion, a drain pipe and trap held in said cupped portion, and means for admitting Huid between certain of said shells to form a fluid jacket around said food and icechamber.

3. A refrigerator including a nest of shells opening at one end and having their edges liared outwardly and secured together, the inner shell having a depression in its bottom to form a catch basin and an outlet t-rap held in said catch basin and projecting to the outside of the outer shell and doors carried by said shells to close the opening into the inner shell.

4. A refrigerator comprising an outer shell and a plurality of inner shells nested into said outer shell, said inner shells having outwardly flared mouths secured together and to the mouth of the outer shell, said inner shells being spaced apart from one another and'from said outer shell to form a plurality of chambers between said shells, said inner shell inclosing a food andice compartment, means for supplying water to the chamber'that surrounds the food and ice compartment, and means through which the chamber that surrounds the water chamber,

may be exhausted, and doors fitted into the flared mouth of the inner shell to close said food and ice compartment.

5. A refrigerator comprising an outer shell and a plurality of inner shells nested into said outer shell, said inner shells hav-* ing outwardly ared mouths secured together and to the mouth of the outer shell, said inner shells being spaced apart from one another and trom said outer shell to Aform a plurality of chambers between said shells, said inner shell inclosing a food and ice compartment, means for supplyingl water to the chamber that surrounds the food and ice compartment, and means through which the chamber that surrounds the water chamber, may be exhausted, and doors fitted into the flared mouth of the inner shell to close said food and ice compartment, said doors being hollow and having each a' partition parallel with the outei and inner walls and dividing the doors each into an inner and an outer chamber, means for admitting water to the inner chamber, and means through which the outer chamber maybe exhausted.

6. In a refrigerator, an outer-shell having a mouth, a plurality of shells nested into said outer shell and spaced apart from one another, said inner shells each having an outwardly flared mouth, means for securing the outwardly flared mouths of the inner shells together and to the outer shell at its inouth, said shells inclosing between them two chambers, a eirculatable iiuid in the inner one of said two chambers', the outer one of said two chambers being evacuated, the inner one of said shells inclosing a food and ice compartment, and doors carried by said shells and fitted into the flared mouth of the inner shell to form a closure for said food and ice compartment, the mouth of said inner shell being substantially the full width and height oft-he food and ice compartment.

JEAN FRANCIS WEBB. Witnesses:

GERTRUDE U. SULLIVAN, LORENZO C. TArrmR.' 

